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BEFORE WE GOT HERE
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When we start to feel bad about humans
And all the problems they cause
There is one bright fact I can point to
We didn't kill off the dinosaurs
We didn't hunt them
We didn't eat them
We didn't ruin their habitat
When I shake my head at human folly
I can always think about that.
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A HISTORY OF MYSTERY
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What happens after we die?
Do we float up into the sky?
Does my personality dissolve like mist?
What happens after all of this?
Well, I don't rightly know
From a really long time ago
People have guessed and invented
The many possibilities that are presented
Some are scary and bad
They make us fearful and sad
So my very best advice
Is to go with something nice
Whatever would be a comfort
Since it's yours, it will be a good fit
A heaven that cures all our woes
A place where everyone knows
How to peacefully exist
Amid glowing clouds of bliss
So pick your heaven, it's free
It's whatever you want it to be
In the absence of anyone knowing
A magical forest is where I'm going
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MORNING ROUTINE
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Bathe yourself in moonlight
Wash your hair with stars
Brush your teeth with sunlight
But get dressed on Mars
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PRAYER WORKS
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Prayer works, but perhaps not in the way one might think
It is possible the prayer travels to the one prayed for
Like an invisible helper or healer, possibly possibly
But it definitely works on the one who prays
Softening the hard places within
Moving mountains of stony feeling
The mountain in our path, the pebble in our shoe
Making a clear path forward to the Place of Peace
Where the slavering beasts of hurt, anger, fear, resentment
Must stay outside the platinum gates of the City of Mind
Where we can peacefully go about our business
Where the stream of life flows past flowered shores
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ALL FREE
Dawn flowed in while the moon was bright
Thus did the day embrace the night
They cooperate perfectly
The laws of nature working right
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I don't take it for granted the sun will rise
Dawn is a joy to me
Every day a precious gift
Compliments of the Galaxy
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MIRAGE
A heart as tender as moonlight
Can be turned to chilly stone
By the Medusa of lies and trickery
When fluttering trust has flown
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Thus we get older and wiser
All that glitters is not gold
Yet while we develop discernment
We remain upright brave and bold
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Discernment and encouragement
Guard our moonlit way
Warning us - don't follow a mirage too far
Until things are as clear as day
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GO ASK ALICE
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Imagine brave Alice, a remarkable girl
Who suddenly found herself in a very strange world
The up was down, the good was bad
It was the weirdest experience
She ever had.
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In this new world, nothing made sense
The bizarre circumstances made Alice tense
Nothing familiar, nothing she could understand
Suddenly she was thrust into this very strange land
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All the characters that she met were very odd
She couldn't trust them or follow their lead
This is when Alice's clever mind
Developed a strategy, yes indeed
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She would make her own way through the Tulgey Wood
While a grinning cat gave her advice
She would find her way out as soon as she could
Because some Wonderland creatures aren't nice
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Stay on the path, trust in yourself
Gather a few allies
Because suddenly falling into a hole
Is bound to make one wise
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FOCUS
Each living thing fights for survival
Nature has equipped each one
With ways and means to make it
But when all is said and done
Life marches on regardless
Time flows by right under our feet
Events are set in motion
It is up to each one to succeed
While history swirls around us
Filling many thick books on the shelf
The most vital concern at the moment
Is that you take good care of yourself
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A PUFF OF SMOKE
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When an unexpected expense comes up
And someone immediately covers it
We know they must have a nest egg of some kind
They can draw from to cover the bills
The same thing applies to anger
When something relatively minor occurs
The one on slow simmer immediately flies off the handle
We can know they have a cauldera of anger within them
Boiling, barely contained, ready to erupt, dangerous
They can become angry with anyone at any time
Judging the world as worthy of their outrage
Furious with this or that, fuming and spluttering
Until the lava of accumulated anger cools
Until they realize they are a majestic mountain
Not a lethal hazard to everyone in their vicinity
These volcanoes must be avoided, circumvented, shunned
Until the renewal of personal growth gets them past this era
And in this period of dormancy flowers can grow
The anger now extinct except for the occasional puff
Of smoke, rising to join the clouds
Until it dissipates into the endless blue forgiving sky
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LINEAR
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First it is hot, then it is cold
First we are young, then we are old
First we are ore, then we are gold
At least that's the way the story is told
Yet there are surprises
In how things unfold
And today is a brand-new day
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NONPREDICTABLE
Will there be a monster in my closet a few months from now?
Maybe, or maybe not
I am not going to begin shaking with fear from this minute
Over the monster I imagine might be in my closet
In the future
My schedule today needn't change because of the possible monster
I will wait and see what happens with interest
In an abundance of caution I will remember to close the closet door
At night, and keep my monster chasing kit at the ready
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NO CRYING IN SCRYING
I can't foretell the future
Even though I have a crystal ball
I can make educated guesses
But that is about all
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Therefore, I don't make predictions
About what I think might be
I'll do my best to handle NOW
That's quite enough for me
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THE EARTHLING AWAKES
The glorious sun shines on Earth
Just like every dawn since our birth
We will make this day count
Get whatever amount
Of the things we know have value and worth
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BRING A CUP
When a gruesome or troubling event occurs
People instinctively protect children from the sight
They cover the child's eyes or use their larger adult bodies
To block the view
The child is picked up and whisked away
To a calmer and more pleasant place
Why do grown ups do this?
They know to protect the child's tender mind
From frightening troubling images
That might scar the mind of the innocent child
This urge to protect the mind can apply to adults too
We can protect our minds from disturbing troubling news
From being buried under an avalanche of hopelessness and futility
We can turn our attention to the beautiful, the enriching
To the higher, nobler realms we aspire to ascend
Where joy, hope, comfort and kindness
Flow like a steady stream to those thirsty for goodness and peace.
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GOVERNED
I am ruled by many things
The laws of the land, nature, physics
I am ruled by genetics, my disposition
Inner moral compass, lucky star
One thing I will not be ruled by is fear
Just over the next hill there is an ocean of fear
Filled with the monsters of our imagination
We don't have to go there
We can head towards faith instead
Have faith in the path of history
Gradually history reveals a slow gain in improvement
As we understand improvement at the time
I have faith in the human striving for improvement
The very human trait of dissatisfaction that says
Things could be better and if they are not better
We will make them better
Despite missteps, losses, lapses in judgement
Bad habits, existential rage
Humanity has taken wrong turns but we are still on the way
To the greater good, the land of reason
The goodness we all hope for with
Every breath, every heartbeat, every dawn.
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STAR BRIGHT
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If you study history
It clears up the mystery
Of why things are the way they are
Yet the common denominator
Is the hope that now, or later
We have peace while wishing on a star
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JUSTIN CASE
I was looking at my wardrobe
Asking myself "Are you ever going to wear this?"
About each item hanging there
I thought "Ever is a looong time, and life can take many unexpected
Twists and turns. I better hang on to this just in case."
So I am keeping my silly Christmas sweater, the Patriots tee shirt
My SpongeBob pajamas, patient gown, Hazmat gear, prom dress
Spiked battle jacket, frilly apron, ninja leotard, invisibility cloak
Bullet proof vest, space suit, and Vampire Hunting Outfit
Because one never knows, do one?
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HIGH DEFINITION
Politeness begets politeness
Calm reason lowers the level of chaos
If it does not
The polite calm one is a clear and obvious contrast
To the rude lout on the other side of what could have been
A reasonable and perhaps beneficial interpersonal transaction
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CUP OF HAPPINESS
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Becoming miserable by trying to become happy
Is like pouring water over your head trying to become dry
Instead -
The search could just be a straight beeline towards the golden flower
Of Happiness
Which might be quite different than what one imagines
Imagined happiness might require a lot of things our egos flash
Before our eyes
But real happiness might be something completely different
It might be noticing a ray of sunlight on a red fall leaf
It might be that first restoring sip of tea
Happiness is not restricted to only certain people
With certain things, no, happiness is often just a matter
Of removing the obstacles to happiness, like wrong thinking
Wrong choices, or being in the wrong place
Happiness is something that happens to the mind
At peace with itself, to the body that is well treated
To the gumption that does what it can, where it can
To be kind and mindful to others and ourselves
Happiness is not a complex maze of accomplishments and gain
It is just the natural state of our inner children who want to play
Running through a field of flowers, holding the golden flowers of happiness
That most sought-after prize, in our hands.
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CHOREOGRAPHY
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I feel as if I am one united being
Mind, body, personality all seem to be one indivisible creature
This is actually not true, I am endlessly divisible
Right down to the electrons in the atoms of my 37.2 trillion cells
The tiny electrical storms in my brain, the hope I carry in my heart
Looked at one way I am one whole entity
But I am also many things working together in harmony
A Mystery run by Command Central which oversees the indivisible invisible.
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MISS REPRESENTATION
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As a child I read fairy tales about the witch in the woods
The stories often portrayed the witch as evil
Green, warty, toothless, cackling while she cooked children
In a big cauldron
Even as a little kid I knew this was completely wrong
I knew the witch in the woods took in lost children
Protected them, kept them from those that would consume them
With horrifying tales of hell and damnation
She showed the children that nature was their friend
Something children instinctively know
That those who would destroy nature, take but never give back
They are the danger, not the wild woman
The woman who knows her own mind
Who does not bend to the will of those that would define her
As second, less than, a vessel for the uses of an agenda
When I was a child, I did not understand how a woman ended up
Living away from the dense population with her herbs, spells, and candles
But when my foot finally found my path
I knew that this was the life I wanted, the life I needed
What a blessing it is to get to the gentle embrace of the trees
The warmth of the sun, the fresh breeze blowing off the mountain
Celebrating nature's bounty and harvest this holy time of year
When the veil thins, and the energy renews to face winter and hope
Hope for spring, flowers, bunnies, and new green leaves.
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THE HAUNTED MIND
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The haunted mind, filled with ghosts from the past
Has fantastic visions of what could, or should, have been
The haunted mind makes dire predictions for the future
Yet is stuck in the past where nothing can be changed
Except our interpretatations of what happened
Instead of predicting the future,
The haunted mind needs to interpret the past
To look in a magic mirror and see how young and naive you were
How the odds were stacked against you
How bravely you tried, your motives driven by hurt and fear
How very far you have come
Predict your survival, predict developing wisdom and skill
The candle of clarity will drive the ghosts from the haunted mind
So you may enter every room in your castle and find them swept bare
Ready for today, for the now, where no ghost can follow.
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LEAVING SUMMER
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The sadness of Fall can seep into the marrow of our very bones
The leaves falling, reminding us of the passage of time
The temporary nature of our summers
Winter is coming and the holidays, all difficult times
Watching the leaves swirl in the chilly wind
Like missed opportunities
We begin to reflect on the past
A past gone like last year's leaves
Compost for the garden we will plant in the Spring
We must make our fall a happy time if we can
Gathering pretty leaves, fall foods, crafts and decorations
Warming our hands and intentions
With a nice hot cup of comfort
We can not stop time
Yet we can push back against the sad reminders of life's fragility
Do some special fall things to create cheer
Turn the spectres into our companions and guides
When the veil thins, we can see something so profoundly beautiful
It fills the Universe like glittering stars of mystery
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REFRAMED
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You did not waste your life
You lived your life
If you made some poor choices
Well, that's what living life is
A series of choices, many many choices
Naturally they will not all be terrific
If you fell in with unworthy companions
All is not lost
You can make better informed choices
You can select worthy companions
The past experiences, once heavy jagged rocks in our hearts
Now become the foundation stones
On which we build our futures
All that trial and error will pay off
The dead ends change into paths
So you can go back and get that lost confused young person
You left baffled by the wayside
Hand in hand you will form the new tower
With a beacon on top called hope.
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THE MERRY VISIONARIES
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A long time ago we never thought slavery would be abolished
But it was
We never thought women could vote
But they did
We never suspected that one day we would be able
To converse with people all over the would
But we do
This gives me hope for the things still in the works
The problems unsolved, the lives unsaved, the illnesses not yet eradicated
We never thought we would join together for the betterment of all
But we have, and now we work to accomplish other solutions
Peace, abundance, fellowship, and maybe immortality
We are, we are, The Merry Visionaries
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THE PATH TO PEACE
Before we set our foot on the Path to Peace
We must first consider what we must remove from our luggage
The Path to Peace is demanding, so our loads must be light
We must remove the broken mirror of regret
Every last shard and splinter
Regret is in the past, but the Path to Peace is only now
Always now
We must jettison our expectations
On the conduct of others, which we can not control
Except to invite them to walk with you or part ways
Perhaps the heaviest item we are leaving behind
Is the need to be right, to prevail
The blame that no longer needs to be assigned to anyone
Will fade in memory
The Path to Peace is not for everyone
Only for those that see the role peace plays in
Sanity and well-being, fun, and enjoying the beauties of nature
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ON THE ROAD TO LIMERENCE
Limerence is a fantastic place
Shangri La built on cloud nine
Where you can fly around on Cupid's wings
Everything peachy keen fine
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It is pleasant to visit Limerence
A diversion so divine
Yet Limerence is a dream within a dream
That can pop and dissolve at any time
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THE BEST HALLOWEEN
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For Halloween this year I am going to be the latest version of me
This one is pretty close to who I always wanted to be
This year for Halloween I will remove the masks I was forced to wear
Revealing who I was in the beginning before I was required to develop
A fake me to give everyone what they expected and wanted
This year it's just me, Trick or Treat
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